


At Your Side

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Fraxus [4]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Belief, Established Relationship, Friendship/Love, Learning New Magic, Love, M/M, Magic, Secrets, Support, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 19:05:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16561556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: Freed has always had Laxus's back, but when he's struggling with a new spell, the Dragon-slayer takes the opportunity to show his mate that he wants him by his side.





	At Your Side

    Freed sighed in exasperation as for the briefest second purple lightning crackled around his runes, only to disappear before he could even try and force more magic into the spell and he gritted his teeth, biting back his temper. _Why won’t it work?_ The temptation to curse was strong, but he forced it back, knowing that if he allowed himself to get frustrated then he was never going to get anywhere. Although it felt like he was getting nowhere as it was as he had been working on this spell for nearly a month now, and this was only the fourth time that he had managed even so much as a flicker of lightning and he had to admit that more than once he had contemplated just abandoning the project. It was probably a stupid idea anyway, it wasn’t as though one new spell was going to make him stronger and whilst he was hoping that it would allow him to support Laxus better in a fight, he knew that it probably wasn’t necessary.

“Are you still at this?” He started at the sudden voice, whirling with his sword raised and a spell on his lips, only to freeze as Bickslow stepped into the open with his hands held out to show that he wasn’t a threat.

“Bickslow…” Freed sighed and lowered his weapon, feeling somewhat sheepish for being so on edge, especially as they were on the outskirts of Magnolia and the area had been peaceful for the last few months. Then it occurred to him what the older man had asked, and his expression tightened as he turned away. “I don’t know what you mean.” He hadn’t told anyone what he was trying to do, aware from the beginning that it was going to be a struggle to master the spell and wanting to avoid unnecessary questions, or expectations that he might not be able to meet.

“You’ve been sneaking off for the past month, even when we’re on jobs,” Bickslow pointed out with a sigh as he sank down onto his haunches, shushing his dolls and Freed tensed at his words. He hadn’t thought that anyone had noticed his absences, even Laxus hadn’t commented when he had been going home and just collapsing out of exhaustion for the past few weeks. Bickslow was frowning now, studying him before sighing and asking with more than a hint of exasperation in his voice. “Did you really think we wouldn’t try and find out what you were up to.”

“I…” _No…_

“Idiot,” Bickslow muttered seeing the answer written clearly over Freed’s face. It always amazed him how their Captain who spent the vast majority of his time worrying about them and Laxus, could be so surprised whenever they returned the favour. It was an ongoing concern and argument between them but deciding that now wasn’t the time to deal with that issue, he gestured to Freed’s sword before asking cautiously. “So? How is it going?”

“Slowly…” Freed admitted, realizing that there was no point in denying it at this point, and some of his frustration slipped into his next words. “It doesn’t want to work…”

“Really?” Bickslow couldn’t hide his surprise at that. He had been watching Freed for the past couple of days, trying to work out what he was doing and whether it was something they needed to confront him about, but it was only today that he had realised that the Rune mage was trying to adapt a spell so that he could summon lighting like Laxus. It was something that he thought would have come easily to Freed considering the amount of time he spent with Laxus, and the number of times they had fought together, if anyone knew how the Dragon-slayer’s magic worked it would be his partner, or so he had thought. “But…”

“I know!” Freed snapped, frustration breaking through his usual control and he flinched before sighing. “Sorry, it’s frustrating. It’s been a while since I’ve needed to create a new spell, but this is harder than it should be, and I don’t know why.” He hated admitting his weakness, because whilst he knew that it was foolish, he felt that as their Captain he should have complete mastery over his own magic. No, he needed to have complete mastery so that he could protect his teammates, so that he could protect his mate, even if Laxus would no doubt vehemently protest the idea that he needed protection. Yet here he was struggling to get his magic to do what he wanted, and worse he had no idea why it wasn’t working, after all he’d spent years watching Laxus fight, studying the Dragon-slayer’s magic and he’d hoped that would make it easy to emulate it with his own magic, but apparently not.

“Does Laxus know what you’re doing?”

“I don’t think so.” The problem was even if Laxus had noticed, he was unlikely to call him out on it unless he could see for himself that it was harmful, and he swallowed, praying that the Dragon-slayer hadn’t noticed and wasn’t waiting for him to succeed.

"I think you should tell him,” Bickslow suggested, voice quiet and words cautious, because Freed was a private person by nature and the Dragon-slayer had come to them the day before demanding to know if they knew what was going on with Freed, and he knew that Laxus was more worried that he had let on. Besides if there was anyone who could help the Rune mage with overcoming whatever was blocking his efforts it was probably Laxus.

“Not yet,” Freed knew what the Seith mage was thinking, and he knew that he probably should just ask Laxus for help, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to do it. After all the whole point of creating a spell that would let him use lightning was so that he could support Laxus in battle, so that he could stand at his side, and he couldn’t do that unless he fixed this by himself. “I want to do this myself.”

“But…”

“Please?” Freed pleaded, and Bickslow sighed in exasperation as he caught the familiar glint in the turquoise eyes. It was one he had seen countless times over the years, and he had never once won an argument against Freed when he looked like that and he knew that he wasn’t going to win this one either.

“Alright,” he muttered, hoping that it wasn’t a decision that he wasn’t going come to regret, remembering Laxus’ worried expression and he narrowed his eyes at the Rune mage. “But at least leave it at that for today? You look exhausted.” Actually, exhausted didn’t come close to describing how he looked, but Bickslow wasn’t trying to pick a fight because he knew that if he did then Freed would refuse to rest out of sheer stubbornness.

   Freed wanted to argue, to keep working on the spell, especially since he had finally managed to coax some lightning to life. However, he couldn’t deny the fact that he felt done in. It was always like this when he was learning a new spell, forcing his magic into a new mould drained him nearly as much as a full-on battle did and he had been doing this daily for a month and somehow managing to do jobs in between. It was too much, even he could admit that much and to be honest all he wanted to do was curl up in bed and sleep. Also, he wasn’t blind to the fact that Bickslow was less than happy about refusal to ask Laxus for help, and he figured that agreeing to rest would help appease him and so with a defeated huff he sheathed his weapon, trying to ignore the slight tremor in his hands.

“Fine,” he replied finally, and he blinked at the speed at which Bickslow rose to his feet, his teammate wrapping an arm around his shoulder and urging him forward, and he scowled at the older man as he realised the Seith mage was trying to get him out of there before he could change his mind. However, now that he had someone else’s support he was realising just how tired he was, and he couldn’t even summon the energy to pull away, although it didn’t stop him from bickering with the older man as they walked, both oblivious to the worried blue eyes watching them from the far side of the clearing.

**

   Laxus sighed as he slipped into their bedroom an hour later to find the Rune mage curled up on top of the covers and fast asleep, paler than normal in his exhaustion with dark shadows under his eyes. He had immediately picked up on it when his mate had started to seem more tired than normal, but whenever he had tried to raise the issue Freed had changed the topic or just disappeared altogether. If he was being honest he had begun to fear that maybe something was wrong between them, and he had been relieved to discover that wasn’t the case. Although knowing that Freed was exhausting himself trying to learn a lightning spell because of him, caused an odd feeling in his stomach, one that he couldn’t categorise let alone put into words _. Freed…._ He knew that it wasn’t just because his mate wanted another way to stand at his side, because that wasn’t how Freed’s mind worked. No, Laxus knew that part of the reason behind this newest project had been their last big job when even the Dragon-slayer had been pushed to his limits, and exhausted and strained, he had grumbled under his breath that he could have done with some lightning to eat.

“Idiot, you didn’t need to push yourself this hard because of that,” he muttered as he settled on the edge of the bed, careful not to jostle Freed, studying his mate with soft eyes. He looked so tired. The shadows under his eyes so dark that they looked like bruises, and Laxus scowled even as he reached out and brushed wayward hair out of Freed’s face before his fingers drifted up to brush against the unruly cowlicks, unable to stop his lips from quirking upwards as he studied the lightning shapes. _Mine_ … There had been a warmth in his chest when he had seen purple lightning leap up from the runes for a brief second, the more possessive side of him loving the idea of his mate using the same magic as him, whilst the logical side could see that it would be an added strength in fighting.

    He had heard Freed saying he wanted to do it himself, and he knew that independent streak along with a continuous desire not to become a burden to the Dragon-slayer was the reason behind it. However, he also knew Freed, and he had a fairly good idea of what was holding back his progress. Laxus lifted his free hand and let his magic dance across his skin. Lightning wasn’t about control, sure he could turn it towards his will, but mostly that was because he was never trying to control it completely, because he wanted his lightning to run wild. However, Freed’s magic was the opposite, it was about tight control and strict rules, made worse by the fact that his mate was always aware that his demonic side was just waiting for him to slip. Freed feared losing control, no matter how often they had reassured him that it wouldn’t change anything, but if he wanted to be able to use lightning he was going to need to let loose a little, something that wasn’t going to come easy to him.

   Sighing he shrugged off his coat and used it to cover the Rune mage rather than trying to move him under the covers and disturbing his obviously much needed rest, unable to remember the last time that Freed had been able to sleep during the day without being injured. He felt some of his tension easing away as Freed curled under his coat with a soft mumble that could have been his name, slender fingers clutching at the material and pulling it closer. It was always the same, Freed had never really explained why, but he adored Laxus’ coat especially when he got to use it as a blanket and the Dragon-slayer had learnt a long time ago that draping it around his mate helped keep the nightmares at bay. Leaning in he pressed a gentle kiss to Freed’s forehead before rising and heading for the door, as much as he wanted to stay and watch over his mate, he had teammates to talk to and a plan to make, as there was no way he was going to leave Freed to struggle with this and continue making himself ill.

_I know you can do this and I want to see you use my magic, I want to taste it…_

****

Three days later:

   There was more lightning this time and Freed huffed with relief, even though it still barely managed to last for a minute before disappearing once more. Still it was progress, and right now he would take what he could get. He had been a little alarmed to wake the other day with Laxus’ coat wrapped around him, but as far as he could tell the blond didn’t know what was going on, at least not yet. He had seen Bickslow watching him with worried eyes the last few days, and he knew that the moment he faltered or that he could no longer hold up against the exhaustion pressing in on him, then Bickslow would break his silence.  The Seith mage had been watching his back for longer than Freed could remember, and he knew that he wouldn’t hesitate to tell Laxus exactly what was going if he felt it was the best course of action, even if it meant upsetting him. It was an outcome he desperately wanted to avoid. _I have to do this myself, so I won’t let that happen. I can’t…_

“You’re improving.” _Speak of the devil_ , Freed sighed more weary than irritated and lowered his weapon before turning to look at Bickslow, trying not to show how alarmed he was at being snuck up on, as normally no one could have caught him off guard. However, that concern became a secondary worry as he immediately noted the bag slung over Bickslow’s shoulder.

“Going somewhere?”

“We all are,” Bickslow replied with a grin, one that faded as he studied Freed’s pale face, concern welling up as it seemed to him that Freed looked wearier than ever. Whilst he was fully on board with Laxus’ plan, he couldn’t help but think that maybe they should wait until Freed was better rested, but then that wasn’t going to happen until he got this spell down. It was a vicious cycle, and he gritted his teeth, knowing that they needed to do the job and hope and pray that it would be what Freed needed to get this spell down. “Laxus got a request and he wants us to go with him.

“Bad?” Freed was already sheathing his weapon, pushing his weariness and lack of progress to the back of his mind, mind racing, shifting into Captain mode as Evergreen had once put it.

“A dark guild near the border that has been attacking the main trade routes, they’ve done a number on the local towns and traders, and apparently the Rune Knights haven’t been able to stop them.” Bickslow replied, making no effort to hide his irritation. Whilst he knew that this job was perfect for Laxus’ plan, it irritated him that the mages who were supposed to deal with this kind of thing were incapable.

“The Rune Knights aren’t used to fighting dirty like dark guilds are,” Freed pointed out as he stepped past Bickslow, feeling rather than seeing the Seith mage dropping into step beside him. “Their usual approach of using overwhelming numbers and direct action won’t work here, whereas guild mages are better suited to fighting dirty.”

_Especially us…._

****

Two days later:

   Fighting dirty had been an understatement Freed realised, growling under his breath as he felt another wall of his defensive runes giving way under the onslaught. Their arrival had been expected, and it was only pure luck that had stopped them from being separated by the first attack and right now it was only his runes that were stopping them from getting completely mobbed, and the runes were failing. As much as it pained him to admit it, he knew that he wasn’t at his best and he worried at his bottom lip as he fought to reinforce the runes that were helping to keep their opponents split up and unable to regroup. He had tried so hard to get this new spell, and now it felt like all he had done was compromise the rest of his magic and his hand tightened around the hilt of his weapon, stubbornly pushing his exhaustion away again. _I won’t let them fall because of me_ …

  Laxus had wanted this to be a tough job so that he could force Freed into trying his new spell, hoping that needing to use it would get past the block he had been struggling with. However, as he spotted Evergreen and Bickslow being forced back, he knew that this was getting more out of hand than he’d intended, and he swung his gaze round to Freed, just in time to see the Rune mage go down on one knee, and a low snarl rumbled through his chest. _Freed_ … The time spent travelling to the job had given the Rune mage a chance to rest his magic, but it was clear that he was still exhausted. and the Dragon-slayer gritted his teeth as he realised that was contributing to the obvious difficulty Freed was having in getting back to his feet. If they were going to do this, it had to be now before someone got seriously injured.

 _I promised that I wouldn’t let that happen_ …

“FREED!” Laxus roared, hating the fact that he was going to force his mate to the limit when it was clear that he was already exhausted, but the Dragon-slayer could feel his own magic beginning to flicker around the edges and he knew that the others were probably only keeping up with him out of sheer stubbornness at this stage. He waited until turquoise eyes met his gaze, relieved to see that the Rune mage didn’t look to fazed by whatever attack had sent him down to his knees, and it eased his reluctance to shout the next bit. “USE YOUR LIGHTNING!”

“But…”

“NOW!” He cut across the protest, knowing that if this was going to work there couldn’t be any hesitation from either of them. _It has to work,_ he thought desperately, even as he smoothly turned just enough to drive his fist into the jaw of the mage attempting to sneak up on him whilst he was distracted, before adding in a softer voice, the words meant for Freed alone. “I trust you!”

   Freed’s eyes widened at those soft words, unlooked for but desperately needed, and whilst the doubts remained they were temporarily diminished, forced to the back of his mind and he gave a tight nod as he rose to his feet. _Laxus trusts me_ … Deep down he already knew that, it was there in the way that Laxus would only show his vulnerable side around him, in the way he had always allowed Freed close even in the dark days when he was lost in his anger against his Grandfather, but it was different to hear it aloud and he took a deep breath. _I can do this. If Laxus trusts me I won’t let him down,_ his magic was sluggish to respond, his exhaustion telling more than ever, but it was still able to respond, and he took another deep breath before raising his sword.

“Roar of the Lightning Dragon!” Laxus’ magic filling the air around him surprise him, and his eyes widened as he caught the expectant look in blue eyes and it took a moment for his mind to catch up with what Laxus was planning. _He wants us to do it together?_ He faltered for a brief second, his intention with learning to use lightning had been to support Laxus, not to use it at his side and he could feel his uncertainty rising once more. _I trust you,_ Laxus’ voice echoed through his mind once more and his expression hardened.

“Dark Écriture: Lightning!”

    For a brief, terrifying second, he thought that it hadn’t worked. That even knowing that Laxus trusted him, that he wanted him to do this, hadn’t been enough to overcome the difficulties he’d been having with his spell. But then his magic responded, surging in a way that he hadn’t thought possible given his exhaustion and his eyes widened as purple lighting crackled around him for a second before surging forward. Gritting his teeth, he strengthened the spell, pushing away his exhaustion in favour of focusing on the Dragon-slayer and he was surprised when his magic responded to his attention, rising, intensifying.  And warmth flooded him when their magics connected in the middle, spiralling around one another until there was no way to distinguish between the two and his mouth dropped open as the lightning spread, surging out around them. He knew this magic, he recognised it from witnessing what Gray and Juvia had done during the fight against Daphne and later at the Grand Magic Games when the Twin Dragons had united their magic.

_Unison Raid?_

“Unison raid?” Bickslow couldn’t stop his mouth from dropping open in surprise as he stared at the spectacle, feeling every hair on his arms standing at end as the storm intensified. He didn’t want to look away, but he couldn’t help but shoot a glance at Evergreen who had just landed beside him and noticing that whilst there was a hint of surprise in her eyes, she didn’t look anywhere near as shocked as he felt. Had that been Laxus’ plan all along? The Dragon-slayer had only said that they needed to get Freed into a situation where he would have to use the new spell without focusing too much on it, he hadn’t mentioned anything like this. “I knew he was planning on forcing Freed to use his spell, but…” _But this is on a whole other level…._

“Are you that surprised?” Evergreen demanded, although she couldn’t hide her awe as the combined lightning snaked through their foes, zigzagging between the rune barriers that remained and she shook her head. Only those two could do something like this. Realising that there wasn’t going to be much for them to do apart from help with the mop up she rested a hand on the Seith mage’s arm when he made as though to move forward, shaking her head to stop him when he opened his mouth to protest. “Laxus doesn’t want Freed to support him, he wants him at his side and being able to cast a Unison Raid shows that is where Freed belongs in a way that not even our stubborn Captain can deny.”

“Want to bet on that?” Bickslow muttered, aware of just how dense Freed could be when it came to himself. It was something that was both irritating and endearing, and more than once they had all questioned how it was that he never failed to see when something wrong with the other Raijinshuu or Laxus, but never see his own value or struggles. He smiled wryly as his dolls bounced excitedly around him.

“Bet! Bet!”

“Laxus will make sure he understands,” Evergreen said with complete confidence before turning away and glancing at the mages that had already been knocked down. “Come on let’s leave things to them and make sure this lot don’t get the chance to get back into the fight.”

**

   Freed was breathing heavily when the lightning finally disappeared, his sword sinking until the tip was resting on the ground as he stared around wide-eyed. _We did_ it… The ground around them was badly scored from their magic and he was relieved to see that everyone was down, not sure that he had anything else left to fight with, and he could see that Bickslow and Evergreen were already moving to restrain them. _We did it_ … He closed his eyes as relief flooded him. He had done it, he had mastered the spell, he hadn’t betrayed the trust that Laxus had placed in him. _It worked, it really worked_ , he thought with an almost hysterical edge to his thoughts, giddy and exhausted all at once and he might have fallen apart if he hadn’t heard movement a second later. Still on edge, his eyes flew open and his breath caught in his throat as he realised that Laxus had moved across to join him and was stood a short distance away, studying him with an unreadable expression.

“Laxus…I…” Freed wasn’t sure what he had been trying to say, but it didn’t matter as he found himself being cut off as he pulled into a tight tug, his arms tentatively wrapping around the older man in response as he buried his face against the Dragon-slayer. He stayed like that for a long moment, just breathing in his mate’s scent and feeling the way his heart was hammering beneath him and it was a relief to know that he wasn’t the only one effected by what they’d done. Reassured, he took a deep breath before pulling back just enough to look up at his mate. “Laxus?”

“You did it,” Laxus murmured softly, meeting his gaze and Freed froze at his words, not sure what to make of the undercurrent of pride in the older man’s voice. _He knew?_ In the heat of the battle it hadn’t occurred to him that the blond had shouted for him to use the very spell that Laxus wasn’t supposed to know about, and he swallowed thickly, voice barely audible as he made himself ask/

“You knew what I was trying to do?”

“I saw you practicing the other day and worked it out,” Laxus admitted, deciding not to mention that he had deliberately followed Freed, guessing that his mate would probably work it anyway as he couldn’t remember the last time he had successfully managed to hide anything from the Rune mage. Well, apart from the real reason for this job, something that was a little embarrassing as he was supposedly the one with advanced senses.

“I wanted to do it on my own,” Freed muttered with a hint of petulance in his voice, as everything caught up with him and he found himself glancing down, unable to hold Laxus’ gaze anymore. It was infuriating, all that time spent trying to hide what he was doing, waiting until he was absolutely sure that he had the spell down and it had all been for nothing in the end _. I wanted to this by myself…_

“You did,” the Dragon-slayer pointed out softly, knowing exactly where Freed’s thoughts had gone even though he couldn’t see his mate’s face right now. _Freed._ Knowing that he needed to fix things and make Freed understand this before the thoughts got lodged in place he reached out to lift Freed’s chin so that he was forced to meet his gaze. He knew better than anyone just how stubborn his mate could be, and he was determined to make sure he realised that he had done this one his own, not giving him any avenue of escape. “I only asked for your help, I didn’t do anything to pull the magic out of you.” It had been a last-minute decision to even try for a Unison Raid, and he had a feeling that was one of the reasons it had worked. They had done it together on nothing more than trust, and belief that the other would be able to keep up.

“But…”

“You were overthinking it,” Laxus pointed out gently, choosing his words with care as he had learnt from painful experience that the Rune mage tended to give more weight to his comments than anyone else’s and he didn’t want Freed to get caught up on that issues. Especially not after what they had just achieved, after what Freed had done. “Lightning doesn’t need thought or rules, it needs emotion and to be allowed to run free…” He sighed as he caught the flicker in the turquoise eyes, the guilt that Freed couldn’t hide and certainly shouldn’t be feeling, and he leant in to gently kiss his mate, hoping that the other two had the sense to look away because whilst it didn’t bother him, he knew that Freed would be mortified to be seen like this. “You did it that’s all that matters,” he murmured against Freed’s lips, keeping him focused on him and smiling as he felt Freed melting into the kiss. When they parted, he lifted his gaze, seeing some of the darker emotions disappearing and he nuzzled Freed’s nose as he added softly. “Thank you.” _Thank you for standing at my side…for learning this just because you saw my weakness…for trusting me enough to make a unison raid work._

“You’re welcome…”

_Thank you for trusting me…_


End file.
